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House of Assembly of New Cambria
The House of Assembly of New Cambria is the lower house of the General Assembly of New Cambria, which, meets in Gryphon Hall on the south end of Calendar Square in Arvant. The upper house, the Legislative Council, meets in Phoenix Hall on the square's north end. The House is an elected body consisting of 80 members, known as Members of the House of Assembly (MHAs). Members are elected to represent constituencies by a form of proportional representation called the single transferable vote (STV), and hold their seats until the General Assembly is dissolved or expires after a maximum term of four years. The Government of New Cambria is primarily responsible to the House of Assembly and the prime minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of a majority of its members. Role Relationship with Her Majesty's Government Although it does not formally elect the prime minister, the position of the parties in the House of Assembly is of overriding importance. By convention, the prime minister is answerable to, and must maintain the support of, the House of Assembly. Thus, whenever the office of prime minister falls vacant, the Governor-General appoints the person who has the support of the House, or who is most likely to command the support of the House. By convention, the prime minister is always a member of the House of Assembly, rather than the Legislative Council. The House may indicate its lack of support for the Government by rejecting a motion of confidence or by passing a motion of no confidence. Confidence and no confidence are sometimes phrased explicitly, for instance: "That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's Government." Many other motions were considered confidence issues, even though not explicitly phrased as such. In particular, important bills that from a part of the Government's agenda are also considered matters of confidence, as is the annual budget. When a Government has lost the confidence of the House of Assembly, the prime minister is obliged to either resign, making way for another MHA who can command confidence, or request the Governor-General to dissolve the General Assembly, thereby precipitating a general election. The General Assembly normally sits for a maximum term of four years. The prime minster may choose the timing of the dissolution of parliament until the maximum term has elapsed, by advising the Governor-General. The political system in New Cambria is mostly very stable, and in modern times it is rare for a parliament to be dissolved early. A prime minister may resign even if he or she is not defeated at an election; for example, for personal health reasons. In such a case, the office goes to whoever can command a majority in the House of Assembly. In practice this is usually the new leader of the outgoing prime minister's party. By convention, all ministers must be members of the House of Assembly or Legislative Council. A handful have bee appointed who are outside parliament, but in most cases they subsequently entered either by means of a by-election or appointment. The vast majority of ministers belong to the House of Assembly rather than the Legislative Council. The elected status of members of the House, as opposed to the unelected nature of members of the Council, is seen to lend more legitimacy to ministers. The prime minister chooses the ministers, and may decide to remove them at any time; the formal appointment or dismissal, however, is made by the Governor-General. The House of Assembly scrutinizes Her Majesty's Government through Question Time, during which members have the opportunity to ask questions of the prime minister and of other cabinet ministers. Prime minister's question time occurs each sitting day for approximately 75 minutes, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Questions must relate to the responding minister's official government activities, not to his or her activities has a party leader or as a private member of the House. Customarily, members of the governing party and members of the opposition alternate when asking questions. In addition to questions asked orally during Question Time, MHAs may also make questions in writing. Members and elections Since 1955, the House of Assembly uses the single transferable vote (STV) form of proportional representation to elect its members. MHAs are elected to represent multi-member constituencies; five MHAs per constituency is the desired number, though to keep constituencies of a manageable geographic size, each can return between three and seven MHAs. The boundaries of constituencies are determined by the New Cambria Electoral Commission (NCEC). The commission conducts a general review of boundaries once every eight to twelve years, and a number of interim reviews. In drawing boundaries, they are required to take into account local government boundaries, but may deviate from this requirement to prevent great disparities in the populations of the various constituencies. The proposals of the commission are subject to parliamentary approval, but may not be amended. As of the 2011 election, there are fifteen constituencies: two 3-seat constituencies, ten 5-seat constituencies, two 6-seat constituencies and one 7-seat constituency. General elections occur whenever the General Assembly is dissolved. The timing of the dissolution is chosen by the prime minister. By law, all general elections in New Cambria are held on a Saturday. Each constituency returns between three and seven MHAs using the single transferable vote system, under which candidates must achieve a minimum number of votes to be elected, called the quota. The quota varies in each constituency based on the number of valid votes and the number of seats to fill. A candidate for a constituency must submit nomination papers signed by ten registered voters from that constituency, and pay a deposit of ₤500. The deposit is fully refundable if the candidate is elected, and ₤400 is refunded if the candidate, at any point in the count, achieves at least one fifth of the quota. The deposit seeks to discourage frivolous candidates. To vote, one must be resident in New Cambria and a citizen of New Cambria or of a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Persons under eighteen years of age and persons serving prison sentences or judged to be mentally incompetent may not vote. New Cambrian citizens living abroad are allowed to vote for seven years after moving from the country. No person may vote in more than one constituency. Once elected, MHAs normally continue to serve until the next dissolution of parliament. If a member, however, dies, resigns, or ceases to be qualified, his or her seat falls vacant. It is also possible for the House of Assembly to expel a member, but this power is exercised only in cases of serious misconduct or criminal activity. In each case, a vacancy is filled by a recount of the original voting papers from the general election. The votes are counted as they were in the original election, except with the provisos that no sitting member can be excluded, and the preferences allocated to the departing member (and any other original candidate who no longer wishes to seek election) are passed over to the next available candidate. Unlike other countries with Westminster-style parliaments, the term "Member of Parliament" (MP) is not in common use for members. Members of the House of Assembly may use the post-nominal letters "MHA." The annual salary of each member is ₤91,000. Members may also receive additional salaries in right of other offices they hold (e.g., the speakership) Most members also claim for various expenses, such as staff costs, postage and travel. In the case of MHAs based outside of Arvant, claimable costs include those for maintaining a residence in the capital city. Officers At the beginning of each new parliamentary term, the House of Assembly elects one of its members as a presiding officer, known as the Speaker. If the incumbent Speaker seeks a new term, then the House may re-elect him or her merely by passing a motion; otherwise, a secret ballot is held. A Speaker-elect cannot take office until he or she has been approved by the Governor-General; the granting of the viceregal approbation, however, is a formality. The Speaker is assisted by a Deputy Speaker. The dress of the Speaker or Deputy Speaker while presiding largely depends upon the person holding the office. Conservative Speakers have traditionally worn ceremonial dress, while Labour Speakers prefer to wear standard business attire. No Speaker has ever worn the ceremonial wig. The Speaker presides from a chair at the front of the House, which was a gift to the General Assembly of New Cambria from the Parliament of New Zealand. The Speaker also oversees the running of the House, and he or she controls debates by calling on members to speak. If a member believes that a rule (or Standing Order) has been breached, he or she may raise a "point of order," on which the Speaker makes ruling that is not subject to appeal. The Speaker may also discipline members who fail to observe the rules of the House. Customarily, the Speaker and the deputies are non-partisan; when presiding, they do not vote, with the notable exception of tied votes, where the Speaker votes in accordance with Denison's rule. The Speaker also refrains from participating in the affairs of any political party. According to the Electoral Act, a Speaker seeking re-election to the House is deemed automatically re-elected in his or her constituency. The Clerk of the House is both the House's chief adviser on matters of procedure and the chief executive of the House of Assembly. He or she is a permanent official, not a member of the House itself. The Clerk advises the Speaker on the rules and procedure of the House, signs orders and official communications, and signs and endorses bills. The Serjeant-at-Arms, whose duties include the maintenance of law, order, and security on the House's premises. The Serjeant-at-Arms carries the ceremonial mace, a symbol of the authority of the Crown and of the House of Assembly, into the House each day before the Speaker, and the Mace is laid upon the Table of the House during sittings. Procedure Like the Legislative Council, the House of Assembly meets on Calendar Square in Arvant; the House in Gryphon Hall and the Council in Phoenix Hall. The House chamber is decorated in green, reflecting the prominent colour of the House of Commons chamber in London. There are rows of seats on two sides of the chamber, divided by a central aisle, however the seats are curved at the end of the chamber to create a U-shaped partial hemicycle layout. The Speaker's chair is at the head of the chamber; in front of it is the Table of the House, on which the Mace rests. The Clerks sit at one end of the Table, close to the Speaker so that they may advise him or her on procedure when necessary. Members of the Government sit on the benches on the Speaker's right, whilst members of the Opposition occupy the benches on the Speaker's left. Government ministers and the Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Cabinet sit on the front rows, and are known as "frontbenchers." Other members are known as "backbenchers." Although there are only 75 MHAs, the House chamber currently has seats for up to 103 MHAs, including the Speaker, and the room can be reconfigured to accommodate up to 160 members. Category:New Cambria